Brian Costigan sentenced to five years for Tenambit attack

A TENAMBIT man has been sentenced to a maximum of five years in jail for his role in a savage attack in which a Good Samaritan was flagged down, bashed and nearly run over in his own car.

Brian Alex Costigan, 23, of Korbel Street, appeared in Newcastle District Court on Tuesday for sentence after pleading guilty to recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm in company and stealing a motor vehicle.

Costigan was in the grips of an ice addiction when he and an unknown man flagged down a passing car on Crawford Street, Tenambit about 12.45am on June 29, 2014. According to the victim, who was behind the wheel of a white Holden Commodore, he saw two males standing by the side of the road waving their hands like they needed help, so he pulled over and got out of the car. Costigan’s unknown co-offender then struck the victim in the head with a bottle of spirits. The unknown man then advanced towards the victim, who took off running around the corner.

The victim said he turned to see Costigan driving his Commodore towards him, but said Costigan swerved out of the way at the last moment. Costigan then got out of the car and the victim recalls lying on his back with Costigan standing over him.

The victim then began wrestling with the other male on the front lawn of a house and told police he saw a knife and a baton on the ground next to him. The two offenders got into the victim’s car and drove away, but a short time later residents in nearby Ribee Street saw the vehicle mount the gutter and crash through the front fence of a house. Costigan was arrested in July 2015, but by that stage he had already began serving a three-year jail term for two other serious assaults.

Judge Roy Ellis sentenced him to a maximum of five years in jail, with a non-parole period of two-and-a-half years.

He will be eligible for parole in April, 2019.

I note that the identity of the co-offender is unknown. But this offender is guilty by reason of the joint criminal enterprise that he engaged in with that co-offender.